Category: Philippines

The time was too short again. But this time i did see a lot more of Banaue and i was the first time in Batad. Since my mother was not doing well and in the hospital i had to cut my trip 5 weeks short and fly home. So i did email Air China at the 27th of February and got a quick reply!

Dear Mr. Hastenteufel,

Good morning!

I have made a temporary booking for you on March 02 departure since March 01 has a higher cost than Mar02. Please see below details. Payment cannot be made on the day of departure , it should be paid through our ticketing office on or before the deadline given below. The equivalent amount in peso will depend on the airline exchange rate on the day we will issue the ticket so you may contact us first in the morning at 8086777 to know the exact amount to be paid in peso. Our office opens by 8:30am – 12:noon / 1:00pm -5:00pm only from Monday to Friday.

So far so good but then the details!

DEADLINE FOR PAYMENT : FEBRUARY 28/ BEFORE 2PM

** no payment on or before the deadline will automatically cancel the booking.

This would not be a problem if i could use the credit card – and yes i can!!!

For credit card payment, the card holder would need to drop by our Makati ticketing office to make the payment before we can issue the ticket. As of the moment, we can only accept VISA, MASTER, AMEX and JCB type of credit cards. Corporate cards and debit cards are not acceptable. Kindly bring a valid ID for our reference.

WTF? I am sitting far in the mountains – no way to be back in Manila the next day at 2 in their office! Totally BS!On top of that it would only set me back another 405€!! So i used the power of the interweb and got myself a Singapore Airlines flight for 508 – a bit more but at last i could get the ticket and they want to see the credit card at the counter in the airport when you check in. I can do that!

The crazy Canadian did leave some meds at her room at Randy’s place so i could bring that as well. We both had the flight on the same day. So that was an easy extra Karma point on the way back. And it was nice to meet the Canadians again for a few minutes!

Had a Jeepney and a bus to Manila. Than the fight with the taxi mafia to get one that turns on the meter. Than he had no clue where the hotel was. With the help of Google Maps and the iPhone i got there finally.

At the Bus Stand in Banaue

Interesting construction somewhere on the road to Manila

After i got to the hotel i dropped my stuff and got into another taxi to get to Mrs. She. Did store some stuff at her place and had to say Adios and Thank You. She took me to a local hot spot for food and it was quite interesting. A karaoke machine as loud as a 747 5 seconds before take off. We had even to wait in line for seats. But the beer was cold and the food was OK! To bad that the other guys had no time.

Good Bye Philippines! We will meet again!

Singapore Airlines Vegetarian Meal

The not so nice Singapore

The Singapore from the brochure

Now imagine that. Out of the plane and down to immigration and you arrive to that!!It was empty and it took less than 1 minute! Best ever!I did spend hours in Chicago and 30 minutes in Bangkok would be super fast. Great. A few minutes later i was in the train towards the city.

It is so great to have friends all over the place. Eric did pick me up at a Starbucks and we went to Little India for dinner. Later Delphine and Caroline did join us. That was a short but great reunion – thank you my little French Connection!!

A nice half day or even day trip is a walk up to the Banaue Viewpoint. Pass the tourist office and the museum and keep walking up the mountain. You pass a lot of houses and see how the locals do their local things. Most of the small factories are right next to the house. They produce bricks, handicraft, lots of carpenters, car wash stations or mechanics. There are enough shops in case you need to hydrate.

There is a construction site on the other end of the valley. The cables are part of a cable car to bring the building material over there.

The same with this construction site

He did stop me at a store and we walked together up to his house. Now i need to send the picture to him.

The little village on the left up on the hill is the actual Banaue Viewpoint. Lots of souvenier stands and a few restaurants.

On the way to the Banaue View Point i did pass a little bike repair place. The owner does never run out of old parts that way. And in his spare time he likes to work on his own bikes. Here are a few pictures from the coolest motorbiker in Banaue for you: